Wednesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays matchups: John Lackey vs. Ricky Romero

After an emotional night when Tim Wakefield finally picked up his 200th win, the Red Sox have to get back to work on Wednesday afternoon when they finish their two-game series with the Blue Jays. John Lackey will try to bounce back after suffering a contusion of his left calf that cut his last start short, while Toronto’s Ricky Romero looks to continue an impressive season.

As he finishes an historically poor year, Lackey (12-12, 6.30 ERA) has a chance to partially redeem himself in the coming weeks as Boston finds itself in the midst of the wild card race. With the Rays losing to the Orioles Tuesday night, the Red Sox have a four-game lead over Tampa Bay with their four-game showdown beginning Thursday.

It may be a relief to some that Lackey is not set to pitch in that series. His 6.30 season ERA is the worst among American League pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched. In his last start against the Rays, Lackey gave up five runs in three innings before being pulled after getting hit in the leg with a line drive.

Lackey has struggled mightily in three starts against Toronto this season. The right-hander has given up 20 runs in 15 innings in those starts, posting a 1-2 record. In his last start against the Blue Jays back on July 4, Lackey surrendered seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings in a debacle of a start. The current Toronto lineup is hitting .281 off of the Red Sox starter, with Adam Lind‘s .565 batting average off of Lackey leading the way.

Romero (14-10, 3.01 ERA) has had the best season of his young career in 2011. The American League Pitcher of the Month for August, Romero is seventh in the AL in ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .217 average. His last start came against Boston, as the 26-year-old lefty picked up his first win of the season against the Red Sox, holding them to three runs in 6 2/3 innings.

While it has been a good year for Romero overall, he has struggled against Boston in 2011, giving up 14 runs in three starts. The Boston lineup is hitting .314 collectively off Romero in his career. Kevin Youkilis in particular has had success off Romero, hitting .389 with three home runs in just 24 plate appearances.